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How it is really supposed to go...
Laura Gribbell :Latin 240 :March 11, 2011 How it is really supposed to go… The parallels between fate and free will that can be drawn between Virgil’s the Aeneid and J. R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, first in the series of The Lord of the Rings, appear to be extremely similar but do have some differences. The big difference between the main characters’, Frodo and Aeneas, eventual outcome is that Aeneas is always guaranteed to survive in order to found Rome, whereas the fate of Middle Earth is in the hands of a small hobbit, Frodo Baggins. Aeneas knows his fate that has yet to come in the first six books of the Aeneid but Frodo has no clue if he will even complete the journey and save Middle Earth. Frodo is trying to return the ring that was forged at a place called Mount Doom in ordetr to restore peace to Middle Earth and cast out all the evil, specifically one person, for good. However, the question of fate versus free will in both Virgil’s the Aeneid and J. R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring are very similar as seen from a close reading of both books. This idea of fate is seen not only in the book by J. R. Tolkien but also illustrated in the movie of The Fellowship of the Ring directed by Peter Jackson. Both agree that fate is predetermined; there is no way to alter the eventual outcome despite the concept of free will. Everything that happens to Aeneas in the Aeneid is preordained including his setbacks. The evidence comes from the text of the actual poem. Every success and failure of Aeneas during his journey was already planned out; nothing or no one could change this, not even the powers or wills gods. This argument is supported specifically through textual examples from the Aeneid. The first line of the epic poem sets it straight: “aram virumque cano, Trojae qui primus ob oris Italiam fato profugus Lavinaque venit litora” (1.2), “I sing of arms and the man, who exiled by fate first came from the coast of Troy to Italy and to the Lavinain shores.” From the beginning of the poem by mentioning fate, Virgil shows that fato or fate plays a key role throughout this poem. While fate is not directly mentioned in the first few lines of J. R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, it creates a subtle role throughout the series. The actual word fate is mentioned a number of times throughout the Fellowship of the Ring. The first mention of fate is seen when Frodo offers the ring to Gandalf, a powerful wizard. Gandalf responds: “It has come to me! The ring of power… it shall be an heirloom of my Kingdom… all those who follow in my bloodline shall be bound to its fate, for I will risk no hurt to the ring… it is precious to me, though I buy it with great pain…” Gandalf does not want the ring to come into his bloodline; he knows that if he takes the ring horrible things will happen. The ring was not fated to go to Gandalf; it already is in Frodo’s bloodline. The past decisions of Bilbo Baggins, mainly to take the ring, influence the life and fate of Frodo Baggins and Middle Earth. Tolkien takes the aspect that fate is unknowable and unpredictable; whereas Virgil does the complete opposite saying that fate is well known. Virgil takes the perspective that fate is predetermined and nothing can change that. Tolkien illustrates that in some cases, fate is a result of the previous free-will decisions. This is seen in the scene with Arwen, an Elf princess, and Strider, otherwise known as Aragorn, the heir to the king of mankind: Arwen says, “Why do you fear the past? You are Isildur’s heir… not Isildur himself. You are not bound to his fate.” Strider: “The same blood flows in my veins… the same weakness.” By weakness, Strider is referring to the ability to destroy the ring like Isildur was unable to do since the ring holds a power over the person who carries it. Aragorn fears that since Isildur was not able to destroy the ring, he will also be unable to do so. Aragorn believes that he is bound to the same fate as Isildur because it is in his blood; if he were to receive the ring, then he would be unable to destroy it. The ring was destined to go to Frodo like Aeneas was destined to found Rome. While the Aeneid involves a lot of the gods and divine intervention, Virgil points out that the gods are unable to manipulate the power of ultimate fate. For instance, Juno despite all of her attempts to prevent Aeneas from founding Rome finally recognizes that she is unable to stop them: “it will not be permitted for me to keep the man from rule in Italy. By changeless fate Latvinia awaits…” (7.430). Also earlier in the Aeneid, Dido falls madly in love with Aeneas in book four when he comes to Carthage and she wishes strongly to marry him. However, the fates have decided something else, “fata obstant placidasque viri deus obstruit auris,” (4.440), “the fates oppose and the god stops the peaceful ears of the men.” Dido’s pleas to Aeneas to stay fall on deaf ears of Aeneas’ men because the fates obstant or oppose to Aeneas staying in Carthage any longer. In the Aeneid, the fates seem more of a person with thoughts and desires while Tolkien attaches the fate to an object, the ring. At the council of Elrond in Rivendale when the fellowship of the ring comes together, Elrond, the king of the elves proclaims: “strangers from distant lands… friends of old. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite… or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate… this one doom…” There is another example of this when Boromir, a prince of Gondor, says to Frodo, “you carry the fate of us all, little one.” Boromir says this to Frodo when the fellowship is created and all commit themselves to protecting Frodo and most importantly the ring. Unfortunately, the ring over powers Boromir, he says to Frodo: “It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing… such a little thing.” From this passage it is clear that the ring is considered the object of fate in The Fellowship of the Ring and in the Aeneid, Aeneas is like the fate of the Trojans and ultimately of Rome. Fate versus free will is very interesting in that of Frodo’s case because only after beginning the journey he is convinced that he is fated for this journey of destroying the ring, that he develops sufficient will power and wisdom to survive the ultimate journey. This becomes apparent in a conversation between Frodo and Gandalf in the deserted cave of the dwarves: Frodo: “It’s a pity Bilbo didn’t kill him (reference to Gollum) when he had the chance.” Gandalf: “Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand. Many that live deserve death, and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment… even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.” Frodo: “I wish the ring had never come to me… I wish none of this had ever happened.” Gandalf: “So do those who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” This passage gives Frodo the courage to continue on with the ring, despite not feeling strong enough. Gollum also is a key role in the entire Lord of the Rings because at the end Frodo is unable to find the will to destroy the ring at Mount Doom. Gollum was able to destroy himself as well as the ring. Tolkien tends to give more free will than Virgil. Tolkien gives the impression that fate is determined by the choices of free will previously. Aeneas also goes through many tough times throughout the entire Aeneid but as that Virgil points out, nothing can stop him and the Trojans from their final destiny: to found Rome. Aeneas knows that he will be successful and eventually found this great city of Rome. This is seen in several examples throughout the book. Particularly when in book six Aeneas visits his father, Anchises, in the underworld and shows Aeneas his future descendents, such as Romulus and eventually the great Caesar. While Anchises is revealing his son’s destiny, Virgil is also able to subtly brag about the power of the Roman Empire. Aeneas knows that he will be successful, however, Frodo has absolutely no clue that the ring will basically consume his life at the end, even though his journey is successful. The actual fellowship of the ring, which consisted of a dwarf, an elf, two men and four hobbits, was only able to travel together for such a time. The fellowship was broken up when Frodo and Sam set out on to the other side of the river and left the other seven behind. There is a significant line when Aragorn decides not to follow the two hobbits: “Frodo’s fate is no longer in our hands,” meaning that there is nothing they can control anymore. Frodo controls his own fate and the fate of Middle Earth. Despite seemingly similar roles of fate and free will, the Aeneid and the Fellowship of the Ring differ on a few aspects. Both works agree that fate is predetermined. However, Tolkien suggests that fate is predetermined due to decisions made by free will. For instance, Bilbo took the ring for himself and at first Frodo volunteered himself to take the ring. Whereas Aeneas had no choice with his journey and eventual success, fate already decided that he was going to found Rome and nothing was going to able to get in his way. There was not much room for him to make his own decisions according to his free will. He might have wanted to stay with Dido and then there would have been no Rome or Caesar but his fate was not to stay in Carthage. The fate in the Aeneid is known, whereas fate in the Fellowship of the Ring is unpredictable and unknowable. No one knows if Frodo will make it to Mount Doom, there is only hope. Throughout most of the Aeneid, the reader is constantly reminded of the predetermined fate of Aeneas and the Trojans. The Aeneid is not as suspenseful as the Fellowship of the Ring due to the predetermined fate of the protagonist. While it seems that both works have similar aspects of fate, when looked at closely the Fellowship of the Ring and the Aeneid take two different ideas of fate. Works Cited * Pharr, Clyde, and Virgil. Aeneid. Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci, 2005. * The Lord of the Rings the Fellowship of the Ring. New Line Home Entertainment, 2001. * Tolkien, J. R. R., and Alan Lee. The Fellowship of the Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.